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Giving Thanks for Giving from #CookingPlanit, Help Us Celebrate The Unsung Heroes

I love the holiday season! A few years ago I began a Thanksgiving tradition with my family. When we sit down to dinner, we each take a moment to say something we are thankful for.

Many of you know my story and know that I had gastric bypass surgery in 2004, which resulted in me losing over 160 pounds. But what you don't know is that due to complications I was kept in a medically induced coma afterward for about 3 weeks.

When I came to I was not able to get up, and was still not able to eat. My then husband had returned to work full time and my days were full of staring at the ceiling. I was very depressed and lonely.

Then my angels arrived in the shape of a wonderful man named Bill and Dolly. Dolly was a fuzzy little mutt of some sort. She was a therapy dog. For the next 2 weeks, while I recuperated, Bill and Dolly came to visit me several times, and stayed as long as I wanted them to. Bill in the chair, and sweet little Dolly in my lap.

I have to say that they helped me more than they will ever know. I firmly believe that it was their visits that helped bring my spirit up, which in turn helped my healing. I will never forget them!!

Sometimes we don't get the opportunity to thank people for the things they have done that have moved us or changed our (or someone elses) life. That is what Cooking PlanIt, as well as several of my fellow bloggers and I, are here to change.

Do you have a story like this, of someone that went our of their way to help another person? Someone who gave of them self, expecting no reward, only to impact someones life in a positive way without expecting anything in return?

Now is the time to tell us their story

Five unsung HEROES will be selected for a $250 gift card! The Winners will be chosen from all the entries based on how inspiring their story is and how they empower others through their actions and eﬀorts.

But there is even MORE..

To celebrate the true spirit of giving, Cooking Planit is also giving the person who shares the story $100 to thank them for bringing the story to light. They also have the opportunity to give back in a very special way. The grand prize winner will win $1,000 for the charity of their choice! WOW WOW WOW right! I can't wait to read your stories! I'm so exited!!

So, it is time to warm up your pens, and warm up the hearts of all of us this Thanksgiving.

In 300 words or less:

Recognize an individual who is making the diﬀerence in the lives of others in your community;

Share how they donating their time, energy or love with a focus on helping others without necessarily thinking of themselves.

We always try to share what we are thankful for on Thanksgiving, but we try to help teach our kids its important to be thankful year round. Often when we are depressed we say "it's time to find thankfulness" and that helps to pull us out of the darkest times. Sharing stories of someone you are thankful to not only blesses them hearing your gratitude but also blesses you in visiting what you are thankful for. This is a great campaign.

Thanks for sharing your story. I definitely want to start having my girls share what they are thankful for on thanksgiving. She is getting old enough to understand and I think it would be a great tradition to keep going :)

What a wonderful thing to do - so many people have those "heroes" in their life, and I think it is awesome that you are trying to reward them! They may not make the news, but so many wonderful people fly under the radar.

I never knew your story before. Thanks for sharing and that is wonderful what they're doing for those "unsung heroes". I know that you're grateful that they came into your life and made your days a bit brighter. There are so many unsung heroes out there, I hope they're all brought to light.